1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a car washing apparatus and more particularly to cloth car wash equipment having a wrap around motor operated cloth wheel assembly for scrubbing the front, one side and rear of a vehicle body.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One type of automatic car washing apparatus is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,772,725 which issued to Richard J. Shelstad on Nov. 20, 1973. A pair of car washing apparatuses are employed on opposite sides of the car wash bay or area, with each apparatus having a rotary brush which is rotated on a generally vertical axis. Each brush is suspended from a carriage which is axially movable along an overhead boom. The booms are positioned in sequential order on opposite sides of the wash bay. As a car or vehicle moves along a predetermined path through the wash bay or area, it sequentially engages the oppositely rotating brushes which scrub the front, sides and back of the car.
As the car or vehicle moves through the wash bay, the booms are moved so that each of the brushes first scrubs laterally and outwardly from the center of the car, then longitudinally along one side of the car and then laterally and inwardly along the back of the car to the center thereof.
In the Shelstad U.S. Pat. No. 3,772,725, the respective booms are each mounted upon a longitudinal generally vertical axis which is located at a small angle to the vertical (e.g. about 4.5 degrees). Each boom is inclined downwardly and inwardly so that the respective carriage upon the boom is normally biased by gravity towards the free end thereof. Also each boom is provided with control means including a fluid cylinder or motion damper connected to the boom to control the rate at which the boom returns toward the starting position so that a substantially constant force is maintained between the brush and the car. The cylinder or damper has conventional fluid flow control means which provides substantially unrestricted flow during extension of the piston rod provided in the cylinder as the boom swings towards the retracted position and restricts the fluid flow to control the retraction as the boom is swung back toward the starting position.
One of the difficulties with this construction is that movement of the brush supporting carriage towards the free end of the boom is controlled by gravity. Such apparatus also requires elaborate and expensive controls and component parts. In addition such equipment requires frequent maintenance and replacements of parts and components.
Other examples of prior art wash apparatuses or equipment are found in the following U.S. patents:
______________________________________ Year Issue U.S. Pat. No. Inventor Title Date ______________________________________ 3,350,733 Hanna Car Washing Apparatus 1967 3,540,069 Grant Automobile Side and 1970 Rear Washing Apparatus 3,570,034 Lanfrankie Car Washing Apparatus 1971 3,626,537 Wilson Gravity Operated Car 1971 Wash With Releasable Brush Means 3,662,419 Dini Car Washing Apparatus 1972 ______________________________________
The prior art further includes the West German Patent No. 1,951,067 of October, 1970 (Ceccato et al).